All that jazz!
Weekend of top live music in store
SOUTHPORT will come alive to the sound of jazz this weekend when the 2023 Southport Jazz Festival takes place.
Music lovers can enjoy the threeday spectacle at The Grand on Lord Street from Friday, February 3 to Sunday, February 5.
Southport Jazz Festival is being organised for the first time by acclaimed local musicians Jez Murphy and Emma Holcroft, who have taken over from Neil Hughes.
There are 10 performances in total across the three days with people able to attend the show of their choice, or to buy a day pass, or to buy a Weekender Ticket with all 10 shows for just £150.
You can buy tickets and see more details at the southportjazz.co.uk website.
Here are the 10 shows you can enjoy:
1The Brownfield-Byrne Quintet – Friday, February 3, 1pm, £18.
The Brownfield-Byrne Quintet, or BBQ, was conceived back in 2009 by two young North Wales musicians, tenor saxophonist Liam Byrne and trumpeter Jamie Brownfield, and while initially inspired by the trumpet and tenor tradition of 1950s bebop, the band’s sound has broadened considerably to incorporate earlier forms of jazz, drawing inspiration from the small groups of the 1930s.
2Djanco – Hot club jazz – with a twist, Friday, February 3, 4pm, £15.
Thom Whitworth – guitar; Andy Aitchison – violin; Rich Whitworth – bass fiddle; Robbie Caswell-Jones – guitar.
Southport Jazz Festival welcomes the incredible Djanco – this show is sure to be a highlight of the weekend showcasing amazing musicianship blended into a highly entertaining show.
3Swingtime Big Band featuring Liane Carroll & Emma Holcroft, Friday, February 3, 8.30pm, £25.
Swingtime Big Band became synonymous with Friday evening sold out shows to a packed audience at Southport Jazz Festival. Led by musical director Jez Murphy the band is made up of 17 North West based freelance musicians who are the finest exponents of Big Band swing around. Based around a superb rhythm section the band shows off tight ensemble playing and excellent soloists throughout each section.
456Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra, Saturday. February 4, 12.30pm, £10.
Organisers are delighted to welcome the superb WYJO to join the 2023 Southport Jazz Festival. Formed in 1976 by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, this multi-award winning band aims to train and develop the musical skills of its members through the performance of big band music from 1930s to the present day.
Alex Clarke Quartet presents Only A Year, Saturday, February 4, 3pm, £18.
Alex Clarke – alto & tenor saxophones David Newton – piano Dave Green – bass Clark Tracey – drums.
Alex is known to be one of the most in-demand and versatile young saxophonists emerging on the British jazz scene.
She was a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2020, winner of the Rising Star category in the 2019 British Jazz Awards and nominee in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2021 & ‘22, and she is here with her quartet to present music from her latest album Only A Year.
Pete Long & Georgina Jackson present A Tribute to Peggy, Benny & Duke, Saturday, February 4, 7pm, £25.
Georgina Jackson – vocals/trumpet Pete Long – clarinet Nick Dawson – piano Dave Chamberlain – bass Richard
Pite – drums
SJF are delighted to welcome two of the biggest names of the UK jazz scene to present this high energy and hugely entertaining show highlighting the music of Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington.
Delivered with expert musicianship and of course Pete’s own inimitable style and humour this will certainly be a major highlight of the weekend’s events.
7Wendy Kirkland Quartet featuring Dennis Rollins MBE – Get Carter Reimagined, Saturday, February 4, 10pm, £15.
An exciting and diverse reboot of Roy Budd’s iconic film score, featuring the haunting melancholy theme. Wendy Kirkland (piano and Hammond organ) and Pat Sprakes (double and electric bass) were commissioned in 2020 by the Ted Lewis Society to arrange the film music in chronological order, telling the story of Jack Carter, played by Michael Caine in the 1970 film as he returns home to avenge his brother Frank’s death at the hands of Newcastle gangsters.
8O’Higgins & Luft Tour 2023 – Pluto, Sunday, February 5, 1pm, £25.
Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins and guitarist Rob Luft now present their second co-led recording three years after Play Monk & Trane. Seven of the nine songs are originals, and the remaining two are Monk & Trane hits from the 40-plus date tour in 2019 that evolved on the road.
9Jeremy Sassoon’s MOJO – Musicians Of Jewish Origin, Sunday, February 5, 4pm, £25.
A foot-stomping, barn-storming celebration of some of the most iconic and best-loved Musicians Of Jewish Origin. Internationally renowned singer-pianist Jeremy Sassoon and his superb band will take you on a journey from the golden era of Gershwin, the Great American Songbook, through to the 21st century, honouring artists such as Carole King, Paul
Simon, Billy Joel, Randy Newman and Amy Winehouse.
10ALAN Barnes presents Copperfield – A Dickensian Jazz Suite, Sunday, February 5, 8pm, £25.
An amazing New Jazz suite composed by Alan Barnes, played by an all star octet.
Like the Dickens classic itself, Alan Barnes’s Copperfield has something for everyone. A great night out that is also a treat for the jazz connoisseur.